House of Commons Hansard #27 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was ndp.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, I have a very simple question. My constituents want the finance minister to tell them what Canada's debt is right now.
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Chair, I apologize in advance for my French.
I will not give any new numbers, but I can repeat and remind members of the numbers that were announced in July.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, in that case, what are the numbers?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, the debt that was announced in July was $1.060 trillion according the economic and fiscal snapshot.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, according to the finance minister, what is the estimated deficit for this year, which will end in April?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I am sorry, but once again, I will not be giving out any new numbers this evening. They will be released later this year. However, in July, we gave a specific number for the projected deficit, which was $343.2 billion.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, does the minister expect the deficit to climb to $400 billion or $450 billion by April?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, as I said last week and as we said in the throne speech, we will provide new numbers later this year.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, the minister is well aware that the interest rate, which is very low right now, will not remain low forever.
If the interest rate were to go up 0.25% or 1%, what impact would that have on Canada's debt?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I am glad the member agrees with me that the interest rate is very low in Canada and around the world right now.
To be clear, in proportion to the size of our economy, Canada's interest rate is at a 100-year low.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, if the rate went up, what impact would that have? It is a very simple question.
We know that we have a $1-trillion debt. If the interest rate were to go up just a quarter point, what impact would that have on Canada's finances?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, during my time as minister of foreign affairs and during the NAFTA negotiations, I abided by a very effective rule: never answer hypothetical questions. It is inappropriate for a minister to answer such questions.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, how was my question hypothetical? We know that the debt is $1 trillion and that it is bound to increase by 0.25% sooner or later.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I would like to highlight something that the member said himself, specifically, that interest rates are currently very low. The interest rate we are paying today in Canada is at a 100-year low. It is very important that Canadians understand that.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, clearly, the minister does not want to answer the question.
Bill C-9 is retroactive to what date?
In other words, when can people start taking advantage of the measures included in the bill, once it passes?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his excellent question.
That will depend on our actions and our willingness to pass it quickly. It will also depend a great deal on the Senate. I would be very grateful if the Conservative Party could speak with the Conservative senators and help us pass this important piece of legislation.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, we know that there will be a retroactive date from which applications can be filed.
Regardless of when the bill passes, what is that date?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I hope I have understood the question.
The commercial rent subsidy will be retroactive to September 27, so the month of October will be covered.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, a company in my riding purchased a business in mid-March, at the start of the pandemic. Since then, it has never been able to access the wage subsidy even though it never ceased operations.
Will Bill C-9 fix this problem with the previous bill? Will people who purchased a business at the beginning of the pandemic and became ineligible for the subsidy have access to it?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his very important question.
During the pandemic, we discovered that there were some very unique cases. I will ask the member to speak with me and my staff. We will look at the particulars of this company and see what we can do.
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister boasted just recently that 378,000 new jobs were created in September. Economists are predicting only 58,000 new jobs in October. It seems to me that this is not a consistent plan for a reasonable recovery.
What is the government's plan for continued, consistent job growth?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Chair, the member is absolutely right that the September job numbers were strong, stronger than economists predicted. That is an accomplishment by all Canadians.
Having said that, as the member opposite knows, since then we have entered into a second wave of the pandemic. The provinces are fighting it. Many have put in place local lockdown provisions. That is the right thing to do, but the lockdowns will have a short-term cost.
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Mr. Chair, to will follow up on my previous colleague's question about businesses that do not fit the box in the one-size-fits-all approach of the government subsidies being offered to business owners, what avenues are there for them to seek some kind of assistance from the government?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, inevitably, when we create programs to support Canadians, we need to have broad-based programs. Those are the programs we are voting on this week, and I know Canadian business owners need them and want them. An additional area where business owners can get support is through the regional development agencies.
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Mr. Chair, in the recent throne speech, the Prime Minister indicated that Canada was going to borrow money and spend money because the Liberals recognized that Canadians could not. Whose money does the finance minister think they are borrowing?